Two Days and a Hundred Years Later...

It's funny how sometimes when you finally sit down and look at where you're at, and figure out everything that's wrong with the way things are, it makes it so much easier to see what's right.

I've had a really good couple of days, spent with really awesome people. Yesterday someone came to visit me in my room, which is always a pleasant surprise. She stayed for quite a while, and we just talked about this that and the other thing. She's just a very cheerful person, and it's so easy to crack a smile whenever I'm around her. We eventually went to dinner which I inhaled given I was to meet a friend at the 154 for our usual Monday night jaunt at 5:30. I was even sly enough to jack a full sandwich from Carrillo to eat on the way back which worked out nicely. It was raining, but I actually like driving in the rain. Much less monotonous. Chumash for the second week in a row was kind, with me walking out being up a total three times what I walked out up with last week, which is of course even better. Going to be pretty tough to triple the winnings next week, but you never know. Unfortunately for the four of us playing in the tournament, no one made it past the first round, although we all had "big fish" stories to pass around. I personally think I got robbed worse than anyone, with a 19 on the last hand while all in against a dealer 8, which then became a 16. Thus any card other than a 3, 4, or 5, and I would have won. Ten out of thirteen times I'd have gone to the second round, unfortunately this was one of the three times I wouldn't with a 3 popping and making the old lady's day at the other side of the table. All four of us had fighting chances in the last hand though, so it was a shame no one went on. By my count though I've played probably in about 8-10 tournaments costing me 40 or 50 bucks, and thus far have won $400 worth of winnings. Still a good $5 wager with a 10 to 1 return. On the way back since we had two cars involved due to one of my friends meeting us there since he works in Solvang, one of them was nice enough to ride with me back over the pass so I wouldn't have to go alone. We split up two and two and were off again through the rain, and I actually became engrossed in conversation the entire way back about my previous blog, the stage of life that I'm at, and just everything going on. She is actually in a somewhat similar situation and was able to relate, which was great. Was just good conversation, yet again.

Denny's was the flavor of the evening once we got back, and we had the usual fun making fun of my friend's special ordering that is quite extensive, with the usual reference to my previous joke about the fact she might as well "ask if they have a kangaroo in the kitchen." You kinda have to be there and in a certain mentality, but hey. I also found out the long distance phone card I've carried in my wallet for years expired in 2001 and has just been taking up space, go figure. Haha, I just typed fo gigure. That's hilarious. Anyway. Apple pie ala mode is the best. After more trash talk and storytelling alas it was time to head back, which was sad because it was now 11pm and I of course had homework due at 8. I'd had a great day though, so I decided to put it off til the morning and wake up mighty early. Before I did though, I got an IM from another friend wondering how the trip had gone and how I was doing, which was nice. She's definitely the person most like me that I've met this year, which makes her very easy to talk to. She'd swelled up her ankle like a balloon a day or two before, which really sucks, I remember the days of spraining stuff, it was never fun.

This morning 5:15am was when the watch went off, which was of course pretty obscenely early since I didn't actually hit it until around 1. I managed to get off my ass though, and better yet do the couple chapters of reading and understanding concepts required, and then figure out and finish up the homework, a half hour before it was due even. I even had time for breakfast! After a relatively uneventful class of going over stuff I'd already read (she collects homework at the end and despises people who come in at the end just to turn it in) I turned it in and headed over to the reccen and track. I've added an arm curl regiment to my workout, as that's one of the weightlifting exercises I'm a decent gap behind what I'm going to have to be at during fighter training. I figure biceps are easy to develop and look good anyway, so might as well get that started. The bench press will probably take care of itself as my push up reps climb into the several hundreds a week, but I'll probably check at some point to make sure I'm up where I need to be. Most everything else I'm already at the level I should be or beyond, so I'm not too worried. The track workout was pretty uneventful, other than feeling like I was going to die as usual. Managed to double the length of the warmdown, although it's still half the length of the recommended one. I've been doing the same initial week's sprint workouts for two weeks though to get better acquainted with that type of workout, so I should be up to speed next week. Lap times continue to fall.

So then I head off to my 11am which I was finally able to add last week. The lectures are pointless, but my main goal was to find someone with the reading list so I could copy it down. As it turned out the first guy I asked was extremely helpful, even letting me know about a homework assignment that's due a week from today and letting me copy down both it and the syllabus/reading list. With that info in hand and having scheduled out the reading for that class up through the midterm, and feeling much better about that class in general, I headed off to go check mail. That is when I stumbled upon my friend from my Writing 109 group, who I've run into now and again since then. Although she'd probably kill me for bringing it up again, she was the one who donated the golf ball sized bump to my forehead a few months ago during a heated racquetball match. :) Although we see each other occasionally, I really haven't been able to get to know her all that well until today. She was tabling for the Princeton Review, so I basically just kept her company when she wasn't helping a patron. I was initially only going to hang out for a little while, as I was hoping to get home and go to sleep immediately, not waking up until around 6 or something. As it was I ended up staying the entire time she was working, for no real reason at all other than the fact I was enjoying her company. I got to hear a lot of good stories about her life, and share some of my own, and it's weird, I just felt like I was actually getting to KNOW know her for the first time. Rather than just being a casual acquaintance, she actually feels like a friend now, you know? She's just an awesome person in general. It's bizarre, I go and complain about lacking these types of connections and then I just start falling into them left and right. Go figure.

I also must mention while I was outside the library one of my bestest friends stopped by as well, cheerful as ever. I don't get to see her too often since she lives off campus, so I value all the times I see her more than ever. She's just the type of person you wanna squeeeeeeeeesh whenever you see them.

So there you have it, Sunday I do all this whining about lacking real friends, and within two days six of the coolest kind make appearances. Life isn't all that bad.